Bravery
by Queen Annie-Ferny's Calling
Summary: -And as the desperate flickers apologize and go, you think of all the melodies that you used to know.- In celebration of Rememberance Day; may the brave soldiers who have passed rest in sacred peace.


**I have no doubt that the following is loaded with typos and the like, so please bear with me; I typed it and the poem in a short timespan. Also, all information here is off the top of my head, with no references whatsoever to Warriors books I haven't touched in a long time, so don't hurt me for mistakes in that section, too, mmkay? As always, though, I would, of course, appreciate if you pointed them out to me. :)**

**A oneshot from various cats' POV's, dedicated to all of the brave, couragous soldiers that fought and gave their lives so that we could have the life we have today. Original work of me, Annie. Le duh.**

* * *

**.[Bravery].**

_Silence is beautiful,_

_Silence is free,_

_Yet, sometimes, you are left wondering _

_What it holds for thee._

_A glowing candle of hope,_

_Or a scalpel in the night?_

_The agonies of knowing that_

_You won't go down without a fight._

**o0O0o**

The sky is black and smooth, constant and uninterrupted as the sheet of ice that blankets the leaf-bare river.

Swiftpaw pads lightly through the forest with Brightpaw at his heels, heart beating unevenly as he lopes hurriedly along with a feverish gleam in his eyes. Ragged gasps of air hissing in and out of his contracting lungs, he gallops steadily forward to meet what is sure to be death.

After all, what else could it possibly be?

**o0O0o**

_Powers of the ancient flow wretchedly _

_Through your bones, _

_Stronger than the death that_

_Tears the heart apart. _

**o0O0o**

The black-and-white striped snout of the badger looms inward from the desperately concealing shadows, silver teeth snapping ferociously. Cinderpelt stands up before her foe, balancing the weight of her slim gray body on three legs. As always, the fourth is raised a mouse-length from the ground in an unsightly way, gruesomely twisted by that fateful injury from a day long, long ago. Whiskers twitching in knowing anticipation, she raises her chin in defiance and lets lose a slow, dangerous growl that rumbles in her throat and shows the pure anger that courses through her.

Behind the ThunderClan medicine cat, a thin, eerie wail rises from a dappled tortoiseshell she-cat as Sorreltail struggles to bring forth her kits to meet the treacheries of the world.

**o0O0o**

_And as the desperate flickers_

_Apologize and go,_

_You think of all the melodies _

_That you used to know._

_Your mother sang them to you, _

_But now you've slipped away,_

_Whisked upon the icy breeze_

_To where none may follow._

**o0O0o**

Wise knowledge shimmers in Whitestorm's eyes as he rasps his tongue gently over Willowpelt's ear. His mate trembles uncontrollably even under his loving touch, and a dry sob breaks free from the clutches of her breaking heart as she pushes her cheek into his fur.

"Please be careful," she whispers hoarsely, revelling in his scent for what she very well knows may be the last time. "I can't afford to lose you...what would I ever do without you?" Breaking down once more into coughing heaves of her chest, she is unable to continue.

He soothes her with soft murmurs and quiet prayers, though, in his heart, he knows that he is not destined to return.

**o0O0o**

_The grip of death, so burning cold;_

_The sacrifice of life_

_Is brought before the heavens _

_To be rejected and burned._

**o0O0o**

Gravelly and open, Snakerocks's expanse looks silver in the moonlight that pours from between the tree leaves, bathing the scene in colourless paint. Gesturing for Brightpaw to stay where she is, Swiftpaw creeps out from the securing cover of the spindly bushes and surrenders to the revealing light of the flat clearing. Beyond the metallically-tinged stone carpeting, everything is dark; he cannot see a thing. A quick peek back over his shoulder shows naught but the glowing orbs that can only be his fellow apprentice's eyes. Though the sight of them is mildly reassuring, he does not doubt that the terror in them match his own.

Taking another hesitant pawstep forward, his gaze lingers over the shadows that waver around the jagged tree line. "What monsters lurk in their depths?" he wonders to himself. A ripping snarl from right behind him answers his question.

**o0O0o**

_Why did you fall?_

_When I reached out to catch you and _

_You merely shook your head._

"_Do not cry," you whispered soothingly,_

_Yet tears fell from your face,_

"_I will be with you always...whatever may be the case."_

**o0O0o**

Dip, strike, duck, scratch...though she had indeed been trained the basic fighting skills by various cats throughout her short life, there had rarely been a time when she had had to put them to the test. As it proves, it looks like the distant ways of a warrior have escaped her, and, anyway, they are meant for cats, not the badger that refuses to give up and instead delivers blow after blow towards the weakening she-cat. She can feel her strength ebbing with every heartbeat...it is like watching the life drain from prey that is soon to be fresh-kill, only in reverse. How can you fight when the pain is internal, a beast that tears you apart from inside? The only option is to wait and see.

**o0O0o**

_Then you left me weeping as you floated to the wind,_

_And I watched you drift away from me,_

_My dearest, closest kin._

**o0O0o**

How many warriors does BloodClan have? It seems that, no matter how many were killed and no matter how many fled, there is always another ready to take the failure's place. Panting hard, Whitestorm spins around to see a surge of fresh cats pouring down from the trees, and he needs to search for the adrenaline that drives his paws towards them. His pads are cracked and stained with blood, but he cannot stop and rest, for he has a duty to fulfill, a duty that he will follow until the end of the earth...even if it pulls him down with it.

**o0O0o**

_Why did you have to go?_

_What made you want to fight?_

_What tore you from my arms_

_And set my heart alight?_

**o0O0o**

Swiftpaw never realized how little effort it took for his flowing fur to be slashed open so. Blood seeps heavily from gashes in his skin, leaving him dizzy and light-headed. More and more dogs pile upon him, and he can hear Brightpaw's shrieking war cry as she carnages furiously for the good of the Clan. Barraged by the biggest canine of them all, he screams wildly and attempts to drag himself away from the pressure on his flaming flank and the hot, dripping saliva that foams and dribbles into his ear.

Amazingly, incredibly, the agony increases, and, one by one, he can feel each of his bones break, hear the shatter of marrow and life. Then everything goes black, and Swiftpaw sees no more.

**o0O0o**

_The battle of the nothing_

_That rages in your blood,_

_Screaming,_

_Whipping,_

_Dying,_

_For those that you have loved._

**o0O0o**

Why did she even bother to fight the truth when Bluestar broke it to her all those moons ago? StarClan has their ways, sees everything set out as if it were a magnificent jigsaw puzzle assembled before them. Their foretelling was right, of course, and Cinderpelt cannot deny it as the badger's gigantic paw comes crashing down on her spine. She is already on her way to the afterlife before the dying breath leaves her mouth, but she died for her family and friends, and she is happy.

**o0O0o**

_Loyalties run deeply set,_

_Binding you to the stake,_

_More than just chained manacles _

_That off you may not take._

**o0O0o**

Bone stares mercilessly down at the ThunderClan deputy, who placidly meets his gaze in return. This is the moment, he knows, the very reason of meaning for what he set out to do.

"I do not fear you."

The words that tumble from his mouth are not slipped out by accident, nor are they a petty plead for the mercy he knows he would not receive. There is not an ounce of fear reflected in his blue eyes as he stands straight and tall and proud, the stance of a warrior, the statue of a soldier.

The posture is crippled as Bone strikes.

**o0O0o**

_As the world ends at last _

_And things are all but done,_

_The blackness clouds over_

_And you know that you have won._

**o0O0o**

Perched upon a fencepost far away, in a land that is not quite so riddled with war and terror, a lone kittypet stares upwards in sheer awe and mystery: the scarlet sky is the most dazzling red shade of blood.

**o0O0o**

_Remember._

**o0O0o**

* * *

**Definitely not my best, I know, but I was in a hurry to get it up before the end of the day. Have a lovely Remembrance Day, m'dears, and always remember to be grateful for all that you have, no matter how shitty everything seems.**

**Wear those poppies proudly!**

**--Annie;;/**


End file.
